


The Inconsistency of Character

by KeganHorse



Category: Naruto
Genre: A well adjusted Sasuke could be like Darcy, Alternate Universe - Pride and Prejudice Fusion, F/M, at best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-08-31 08:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8571649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeganHorse/pseuds/KeganHorse
Summary: Sakura lives in Kakemori (賭け森/Bet Forest) with her master, Tsunade. Though Sakura is Tsunade's only true apprentice, throughout the years they were joined by Tenten, Hinata and Ino. When a group from Konoha arrives as delegates to speak with the leader of Kakemori on behalf of the Hokage, Sakura finds herself the unhappy acquaintance of one Sasuke Uchiha. While Sasuke's friend Naruto quickly falls in love with Hinata, Sakura must endure the increasingly troubling Uchiha and the continuous parade of insanity that seems to be following her wherever she goes.





	1. Chapter 1

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a kunoichi in possession of free time must be in want of a mission.”

To her credit, the young girl in question merely turned the page of her book in response to the unsubtle barb. Over the eight years that Sakura had spent as this woman's apprentice, she had learned that if her master wished to tell her something, there was no use arguing. In fact, there was hardly ever a need to respond at all.

The older woman sat herself onto the other end of the sofa upon which Sakura perched, delicately plucking the well-worn novel out of her hands and eyeing the cover with some amount of exasperation before turning her critical eye upon her pupil once more.

“This nonsense again?” Tsunade pursed her lips, carelessly allowing the book to slip from her fingers and onto the table beside her with an audible flop. “If you want to read that filth so much then perhaps I should send you to be Jiraiya's student instead.”

Sakura fought hard to hide her smirk, and thankfully she won. It wasn't the ridiculous descriptions of the ways in which Jiraiya seemed to wish modern Kunoichi went about completing their missions that she so enjoyed, but the subtle and surprisingly witty satire that he somehow managed to insert between covert seductions and wildly inappropriate ways in which to thank one's savior.

It was then that Tsunade seemed to recall that she had sought out her pupil for a reason. “Speaking of that lech, I am assuming that you have heard from the others that a group of ninja have arrived in the village?”

Sakura shook her head to indicate that she had not, causing her master to sigh in exasperation as she reached into the folds of her kimono to extract a small bottle of sake. “Honestly, what use is that loud-mouthed blonde if she can't even be relied upon to deliver information to the right people.

Well, don't you wish to know who they are?” Tsunade demanded, taking a swig from her bottle.

“I'm not sure I really have a choice in the matter,” Sakura allowed a small smile to grace her lips.

Tsunade leveled the girl with an unimpressed glare before deciding to ignore the snarky remark.

“Ino has told everyone within a mile radius of her about the handsome young blonde man who arrived this morning. Apparently he is returning from a mission.” Golden eyes sparkled with mirth in a way that told Sakura there was more to the story than just a boy on his way home, so Sakura indulged her with the awaited question.

“And who is this handsome blonde man?”

“Namikaze Naruto.”

“Is he an accomplished ninja?”

Tsunade just barely managed to tamper down her irritation, instead taking another swig from her bottle. “Of course he is, he's the Hokage's son! And Jiraiya's own student, as well. What good luck for you girls!”

“How so?”

“Sakura,” Tsunade chided earnestly, leaning forward so that her face was mere inches from Sakura's own and she could smell much more than two gulps of sake on her mentor's breath. “When did you start to enjoy vexing me so? One of you must defeat him, of course!”

At this, Sakura was actually a little surprised. “Defeat him? Did he come here expecting a challenge?”

“Of course not,” she huffed, settling back into the couch with a look of excitement. “But it can only be assumed that he would welcome a good fight just as any virile young ninja would. And so you, as my apprentice, must go and meet him.”

“If it's a good fight he's in need of, I'm sure the others can provide that just as well,” Sakura edged around the other woman, reaching for the book resting on the side table. “Or you for that matter. I'm sure you could flatten him easily.”

Tsunade slapped the girl's hand away from the novel before she could reach. “Of course I could, but it wouldn't be fair. And besides, I have far too much to manage here. You must go and meet him.”

Perhaps it was spurred on by the stinging in her hand from where she had been slapped, but Sakura couldn't help the petulance that edged into her demeanor. “But I don't want to!”

“Think of what defeating the son of the Hokage would do for any of you girls,” Tsunade's words were carefully crafted and slow, as if Sakura just wasn't understanding the wisdom of what she was being asked to do.

Sakura couldn't manage to contain her scoff. “What it would do? Tenten and myself are just orphans with no village to elevate our rank no matter who it is we best in a fight, and no physical feat will cure that attitude that landed Ino in our lives. I suppose I would only be able to offer him Hinata, since she may have something to gain from the fight.”

“While Hinata may be able to benefit, it still wouldn't return her to being clan heiress,” Tsunade spoke softly, tempering her anger at the Hyuuga clan head. “You are my apprentice and therefore an agent of Konoha. And the others are just as entitled to the change as either of you.”

“All of us are cast-outs,” Sakura stated bluntly. She appreciated her master's insistence that they were special – that she was special – but there was no denying the truth. She was proud of her skills as a kunoichi, but why waste it on some fruitless endeavor?

With a forceful sigh, Tsunade slammed the empty bottle of sake onto the coffee table before standing. “Eight years,” She ground out between her teeth, turning to glare down menacingly at the pink-haired girl. “Eight years of learning from me and you're still as stubborn as you've always been. Just as pessimistic. Won't even indulge the woman who has trained and raised you into the woman you are today!”

Sakura went to respond, but she was quickly cut off.

“What have I done to deserve such an ungrateful child!” The woman paced the length of the room, her animated gestures even more pronounced after her midday sake.

Grinning, Sakura leaned over to finally retrieve her book, flipping it open to the page she had been reading before the interruption. “Not to worry, Shishou. I'm sure there will be plenty more opportunities for us girls to raise our esteem that won't involve unsolicited violence against visitors.”

“All those chances will mean nothing if you continue to sit on your ass reading that man's vile smut!”

Bright green eyes met gold as Sakura smiled cheekily up at her mentor. “Well, we had best hope that Jiraiya stops writing soon then.”

Having had enough, Tsunade let out of strangled sound of disbelief before stomping towards the door, but not before she snatched the hated book and used it to smack her student soundly upside the head.

Before she could exit the room, however, a timid knock was heard before it opened a crack to reveal only the smallest amount of long, dark hair.

“Just go in already!” A loud voice demanded from behind just before slender hands gently but firmly pushed the girl into the room. She was quickly followed by two others, a girl with dark eyes and hair pulled into two buns and a striking blonde with a disarmingly troublesome grin.

“We're back!” The blonde announced unnecessarily.

Tsunade worked to reign in her temper, throwing one last withering look over her shoulder before addressing the trio. “That was quick. I only sent you out two hours ago.”

“Yeah, two hours to take out a group of wannabe rogues,” the brown haired girl dead-panned. “We would have been back sooner if Ino hadn't needed to stop and make sure her make-up wasn't smudged.”

“It's important to always look your best!” Ino pouted, but her face quickly lit up as she turned towards Tsunade. “You should have seen Hinata! She managed to do that thingy that her clan is famous for!”

“The sixty-four palms?” Sakura asked, to which Hinata barely managed a nod of her head.

Sakura gave the timid girl an appraising look. She had joined them three years ago, after her father had announced that she would no longer be the heiress due to her lack in skill. Luckily, Tsunade had been in the village at the time and had requested to take Hinata on as an unofficial apprentice. In the time they had been together, Sakura had grown rather fond of the girl.

“Hmm...” Sakura closed her book and held it with one hand, tapping the spine of the book against her chin in mock contemplation. “I'm sure that technique would put on quite a show when used against Namikaze Naruto.”

“A fight we shall never get to see, since you are not inclined to go challenge the brat.”

“Ooh, I will!” Ino surged forward, grabbing hold of Tsunade's hands. “I've known him since the academy. He was always annoying and stupid back then, but man has he grown into a hottie!”

Tsunade seemed to be waging some internal battle as she studied the blonde. Her eyes slid towards Hinata, who seemed rather flustered, then to Tenten, who had ignored the conversation in favor of taking a seat on the floor with her weapons spread out around her for cleaning. It didn't seem to be a difficult battle.

“No.”

Ino's face fell. “Why not,” she whined, tugging harder on the woman's hands. “I know all his weaknesses and techniques. I've only been away from the village for a year, he can't have learned much since then.”

“I can't have you representing me,” Tsunade tore her hands from Ino's grasp and threw them into the air, matching the younger girl's dramatics. “Besides, the one to issue the challenge to that useless man's prodigy has to be my own. It's a matter of pride!”

Sakura stood, glad to finally have heard the words she was waiting for. Of course it wasn't about any of the girls proving their strength against someone so well known as the Hokage's son. Tsunade just wanted to one-up her former teammate.

“Well then,” Sakura sauntered over to stand between the two angry blondes. “It's a good thing you won't have to rely on the pig. She'd probably just go about defeating him in the Jiraiya sense of the word, anyways.”

Ino made a sound of protest, knowing that she had been insulted though she wasn't quite sure in what way. Tsunade, already angry at her charge, turned instead on Tenten, who at the moment was creating an awful sound in the corner as she sharpened her kunai.

“Must you do that inside?” She demanded, eyes almost comically large as she flicked them pointedly at the small blades.

“Yes, must you Tenten?” Sakura echoed. “This is a most inconvenient time for you to be playing kunoichi.”

Tenten smothered a laugh as Tsunade shot a disgruntled look at her apprentice. “It isn't my fault,” Tenten insisted. “If only these knives would stop dulling.”

“Indeed,” Tsunade said dryly before rounding on Sakura once more. “Jiraiya arrives tomorrow, Sakura! If you do not issue the challenge before he arrives then he will suggest that his brat does it and then you will be the one on defense.”

“Shishou, when have you ever allowed yourself to be on the defense with that man?” Sakura had to work hard to hold her laughter, bracing her master's shoulder with one hand as she brought her book up to her lips with the other, just in case a smirk should come through.

“Excuse me?”

Sensing the danger that was beginning to saturate the room, Sakura sought out a minor distraction to keep her game going a little while longer without causing her master to explode.

“Well, Tenten,” Sakura raised her eyebrows at the brunette. “You've been around almost as long as I have. Has there ever been a time when Jiraiya managed to get the better of Tsunade-shishou?”

Unable to express any sentiment around the laughter she was struggling with, Tenten did not reply.

Blinking innocently, Sakura continued. “But we aren't talking about Jiraiya really, are we? Back to Naruto.”

“Forget it,” Tsunade exclaimed, pressing past Sakura to sit once more on the couch. “Just forget it. I'm sick of him already.”

“Oh,” Sakura slowly turned, her eyes dancing despite her grave tone. “That's no good. I'm afraid I've already met with him to extend an invitation to spar.”

Slowly, Tsunade looked up into her pupil's face overflowing with laughter. “But you hadn't even known he was here until I told you just now!”

A decidedly piggish snort sounded from just behind Sakura, where Ino stood peering over her friend's – or rival, depending on the day – shoulder. “Sakura was the first person I told this morning after I saw him. She's known all day!”

Tsunade took a moment to sputter in indignation before composing herself. Fine, so her student enjoyed riling her up. At least she evidently knew what to do without even being asked.

“Good!” Tsunade shot to her feet, her gaze sweeping over the four girls in the room. “Very good, Sakura. I hope you enjoyed your little joke.”

Sakura finally let her smile loose, so genuine and happy that Tsunade begrudgingly found that she couldn't truly be upset after all.

“Now, Tenten, it seems you may continue playing kunoichi now that all the important matters are settled.”

Tenten grunted noncommittally in response, already having immersed herself in her task now that the entertainment had finished.

It was Ino though, who wasn't quite finished with the topic. “Who will be the one to spar with him?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this first chapter quite a while ago, and I just thought I might pop it on here to see if there is any interest. So many fandoms can translate into P&P rather well, but I think Sakura and Sasuke are my favorite. You know, if he had not gone down the dark road of insanity for a while.
> 
> So, let me know what you think and if you have any questions. I will probably be working on this and my other projects more often now so I don't off myself due to the boredom of my job.
> 
> Happy reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sakura is awed, nervous, insulted and then insulted again.

Sakura did her best to fend off the never ending questions she was faced with from all fronts. It appeared that Namikaze Naruto was such a commodity that none of her fellow kunoichi had been able to get more than a glance of his bright yellow hair before Tsunade forbade them from following the young man around town.

(We do not follow men around like drooling, long-haired perverts!)

In truth, Sakura didn’t have much at all to say about the Hokage’s son. Their meeting had been brief and surprisingly loud. He was handsome of course, his tan skin contrasting exceedingly well with his unruly mop of blond hair. But he was unnaturally animated for a ninja, and such a high-ranking ninja from the Leaf, no less. She had hardly managed two sentences (introducing herself and a quick mention of her master) before he became so excited he insisted on carrying on the rest of the conversation himself.

They parted soon after they met with a clear promise to meet again at the upcoming festival, and though Sakura was loathe to even think it, she was nervous. Thus she kept her lips tightly shut even to the questions of shy little Hinata. It wasn’t that Sakura thought him particularly handsome (though she did, and normally would have gone straight to Ino with such titillating gossip), but because he was _strong_. So strong, in fact, she wasn’t sure how to tell Tsunade that all four girls might not be enough against her former teammate’s apprentice.

Tsunade insisted on inviting him to their compound a few days before the festival to see the man she often referred to as “that little whiskered pest,” but he quickly sent word that he would have to decline due to prior engagements. He did however include a short note about bringing some friends to the festival and addressed her as “Granny Tsunade,” which sent her into such an immediate rage that Sakura quickly left the room to escape the flying debris.

A few hours after her fit of rage, Sakura found Tsunade slumped over the desk in her office, mostly empty bottle of sake still clutched in one fist.

“If I could see but one of you girls make a name for yourself by beating up that over-confident little brat, I could die happy,” She speaks surprisingly steady despite the gloss in her eyes. “And then I know the rest would follow suit.”

Tsunade remained relatively inconsolable for the rest of the week leading up to the ball, and her mood only seemed to worsen with gossip as to who it was that would be accompanying Naruto to the festival. Rumors ranged from a virtual army of high-ranking young jounin to Jiraiya himself, though Sakura saw no evidence of such distinguished guests. It wasn’t until festival itself that they saw any signs of other ninja from Konoha in the form of two men and a woman, all of whom Ino immediately revealed were Naruto’s teammates.

“The red head is Naruto’s cousin, Uzumaki Karin,” Ino stage whispered to Sakura as Naruto’s party made their introductions to the few left in the village that had not yet met them. “She’s a wicked little snake,” She added with a slight undertone of bitterness. “The pale boy with dead eyes is Sai, and the handsome one is Uchiha Sasuke, a member of Konoha’s most infamous clans. Too bad he’s a complete jerk.”

Sakura thought Ino must have been slighted at some point to allow something so minor to her as personality to eclipse looks, but found herself quite agreeing with her sometimes-friend. Naruto’s raw power and sunny disposition was dazzling, but the understated strength that emanated from the Uchiha was hypnotizing. Sakura only managed to tear her eyes away when Tsunade called out to the group.

“Granny Tsunade!” Naruto bellowed as he rushed forward to hug the older woman before turning to Sakura and greeting her in a similar fashion. “Sakura-chan!”

Simultaneously winded and taken off guard by his use of her name, Sakura quickly extracted herself from his arms and took a half step to her left, using TenTen as a partial barrier against the boisterous ninja (and to try to conceal her blush).

“Namikaze-san,” Sakura began when it became clear that Tsunade was much too miffed at the use of her hated nickname to properly address the young man. “I’m sure you already know Yamanaka Ino and Hyuuga Hinata of the leaf,” Sakura glanced at the two girls and tried hard not to sigh in exasperation at the looks they were shooting the Uchiha and Naruto respectively. “And this is TenTen.”

For her credit, TenTen smiled kindly and held out her hand, which was shook vigorously by Naruto before he enveloped Ino (begrudgingly) and Hinata in hugs as well.

“It’s great to see you guys again, it feels like it has been forever! And Sakura-chan, please just call me Naruto. You and I are equals, training under the Sannin!”

A muffled snort escapes from Tsunade’s direction, but Naruto doesn’t seem to notice.

“This is my cousin, Karin, and our teammates, Sai and Sasuke,” Naruto gestures to his party members, all of which seem to have adopted one form or another of complete and utter disinterest. “Sasuke is training under Orochimaru!”

This time, the cry from Tsunade does not go unnoticed.

“What?” She demands, and Sakura quickly dives in to keep her master from making a scene. She has heard the name Orochiaru on occasion, and knows it is an even worse topic than Jiraiya.

“Naruto, you went to the academy with Ino and Hinata?”

“Of course,” Naruto easily ignores, or possibly doesn’t notice, the outrage emanating from Tsunade, and gives Sakura a broad grin. “We were all in the same year. Ino was always chasing after Sasuke, but Hinata was much more interested in studying, since she is the heir of the Hyuuga clan and all.”

“Was the heir,” The red-head, Karin, amends harshly, and Sakura turns her head slightly to see Hinata hide her face in a curtain of long, dark hair. “Now Hanabi is.”

“Oh, yeah,” Naruto nervously runs his hand through his hair, the first sign of understanding Sakura has seen from him yet, and looks sheepishly at the girl in question. “Sorry about that, Hinata. Still just doesn’t seem right.”

Hinata mumbles something that sounds like “It’s okay Naruto-kun,” but is easily drowned out by the Uchiha.

“It isn’t our place to question Clan politics.”

Naruto sends his teammate a withering glare that Sakura is sure matches her own, but before she can speak her mind, Karin addresses her in that same unaffected, condescending tone she had used to cut down Hinata.

“And you, Sakura was it? What village are you from? What clan? You must be quite important to have caught the eye of Lady Tsunade.”

Sakura watched as all eyes fell on her. She hadn’t been able to tell Naruto during their brief meeting anything about her status and could now feel the weight of her past more acutely than ever before. Surprisingly though, it only seemed to boost her courage.

“I’m not from any village,” She announces proudly and can feel the full burning support of her master beside her. “Tsunade-shishou found me as a child. I had no home, no family and no name, but now I have the most powerful master a girl could ask for.”

The as-of-yet silent man, Sai, seemed to express some amount of curiosity in his stare but remained silent while Naruto made a sound of amazement. The Uchiha glanced at her but his expression remained the same as it had been since they first met. However, it seemed Karin would not be deterred.

“So you aren’t even truly a kunoichi?” Her eyes were cold as she addressed Sakura.

“I have no village nor title,” Sakura concedes, unwilling to allow this stranger to rile her up about something she had no power over. “I simply am what I am.”

Before anyone else could speak, Naruto jumped in to draw their attention to something down the street.

“Takoyaki!” He exclaimed, grabbing both Sakura and Hinata by the wrists. “I love Takoyaki, let’s go get some!”

It wasn’t until later that night, when Sakura was sitting alone in a tree to escape the suffocating enmity radiating from Karin and dour dispositions of both the Uciha and Sai that Sakura noticed just how much attention Naruto paid to the ex-Hyuuga heiress. She watched as he dragged her excitedly from one stall to the next before pausing to pull Sasuke aside, just within earshot of where she sat.

“C’mon, Teme,” Naruto whined petulantly. “At least try to have a good time! We never get a break from te village.”

“I would hardly call this a break,” the Uchiha responded lowly, yanking his arm from the blonde’s grasp. “Stuck in this village with nothing but cast-outs and nobodies is meaningless to me.”

“Teme, just because Hinata and Ino are cast-outs doesn’t mean they are nobodies. In fact, most of the people we met are pretty impressive!”

“Hinata is the only one with any real potential,” he admits. “But she doesn’t have the confidence needed to be a kunoichi of the Leaf.”

“Well what about Sakura-chan!” Naruto says excitedly. “She has more confidence than pretty much anyone else we know. I bet she could interest you if you let her!”

Sakura finds herself leaning in slightly, steadying her chakra as much as possible so as not to alert the two highly-trained ninja who had somehow not already noticed her. By the slight sway in Naruto’s stance, he must have found a stall selling alcohol. She wasn’t quite sure what the Uchiha’s excuse could be.

“A no-name little girl with absolutely no credentials other than a sannin adoptive mother?” Sasuke spat unkindly. “I don’t see how she could be any good at even the simpest task, if only on the merit of her awful pink hair alone.”

She fought the urge to should and pummel him into a crater so deep he would never find his way out. What did it matter? He was just a spoiled Konoha brat. What did he know of her or her abilities?

“Teme...” Naruto growled warningly, but was cut off before he could say any more.

“You’ve been spending the whole night following around that Hyuuga,” Sasuke snapped. “Just continue enjoying her company and leave me alone, Dobe.”

Huffing loudly, Naruto reluctantly separates from his teammate to undoubtedly track down Hinata. Sakura watches a few minutes longer as Sasuke stares off at nothing, seeming unwilling to return to the festival. Growing tired of waiting (and perhaps feeling a little cheeky in light of her recent insults), Sakura leaps lightly down from the tree, landing with just enough chakra concentrated in her feet to only barely crack the concrete below her.

She watches as Sasuke turns towards her, eyes wide but otherwise silent as she walks towards and past him, pausing for only a moment to say, “Sorry, pink hair must have given away my position,” before she walked back onto the main street to find TenTen.

And perhaps a bottle of sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay. I was low on inspiration and time and I am lazy and all those other common excuses. And then, about a month ago I found the resolve to write again! And promptly broke my hand. So, any mistakes/etc. in this chapter are due to it being late and this big dumb orange cast on my right hand.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I tried to stick to the tone when I could, but it isn't so easy when writing actual dialogue and not alluding to things said, and especially when said dialogue is between Naruto characters. But yeah, chapter two!


End file.
